Gone huntin'

CM Punk could have been renamed GH Punk on Halloween night – GH for
‘Ghost Hunters.’ The ECW Extremist spent six hours with the Sci
Fi show’s all-night, live ghost hunt at The Stanley Hotel, a.k.a.
‘The Shining’ hotel, in Estes Park, Colo. Was Punk spooked?
Barely. Although he experienced some seriously creepy happenings while at
The Stanley.

Before Punk joined the lead ‘Ghost Hunters’ investigators Jason
Hawes and Grant Wilson, WWE.com, which was live onsite all night long,
caught up with the Extremist, who gave an exclusive peek into what’s
been happening to him at the hotel.

“I think I might have already had an encounter. I had a little bit of
downtime so I decided to take a nap. I woke up in the middle of my nap
because there was a knocking at my door. Then I heard giggling and loud
footsteps running away,” Punk explained. “On the floor above
me, the entire day it sounded like kids playing – heavy footsteps
back and forth, giggling, laughing and screaming. I checked earlier and
there are zero children checked-in, staying at the hotel. Kind of
interesting.”

While Punk said he doesn’t really believe in
ghosts, after his night at The Stanley, he might have to think twice. He
told WWE.com he wasn’t nervous before the ghost hunt, but
excited.

“I feel very comfortable here. Due to ECW having all the freaks and
psychopaths, we got vampires, we got homicidal maniacs, chair-swinging
freaks and fatty Tommy Dreamer,” Punk said. “I think I’m
prepared for any kind of ghoul that wants to come my way, because after all
I’m on a show with Balls Mahoney – it doesn’t get any
scarier than that.”

Hawes and Wilson also spoke exclusively with WWE.com before the live
broadcast of “Ghost Hunters,” which is in its third season.
They were pumped to have the Extremist on hand for the series’ first
live episode.

“He does seem pretty skeptical right off the bat,” Wilson said.
“It’s nice having someone who is respected by a lot of people
and who can also act as representation of the audience. He can ask
questions that the audience is thinking of.”

“If we have any problems, we can use him as a backup security guard.
He can suplex the ghosts if we ever come across them,” Hawes laughed.
“Just him being there and seeing if he has any experiences just like
everyone else will be help enough.”

As for Punk’s early experience in the hotel, hearing kids’
voices, knocking, giggling and footsteps, Hawes wasn’t
surprised.

“It jives with what’s going on, especially because there are no
children on the premises. That kind of helps add stability to his
claim,” Hawes said.

“We had success here before,” Wilson said. “We hope it
repeats. I hope that Punk has the chance to really get some good
experiences, but we’re here to help him through it.”

Once the live broadcast got started, Punk was right
in there with Hawes, Wilson and the rest of the ‘Ghost
Hunters’ team, investigating the hotel. The Extremist showed no
fear going into the haunted hotel rooms.

Punk started the night at 11 p.m. ET (9 p.m. MT at the hotel) in room 217
– the room “The Shining” author Stephen King stayed in.
Hawes and Wilson explained the difference between demons and ghosts, and
Punk revealed he believes his Chicago apartment is haunted.

About two hours later, in the dingy, creepy hotel employee passageway, the
lead investigators heard a voice say “hello” and laugh a few
times. The moment is positively spine-tingling. Punk wasn’t in the
underground area during the paranormal experience, but he knew why the
spirit made its presence known without him there.

“Apparently now they’re hearing things, so I don’t know,
am I intimidating the ghosts?” Punk proclaimed.

A little while later, two of the other investigators in room 407 – a
room where in the past drawers have opened and closed on their own –
experienced an eerie phone call where no one was on the other line. Also,
viewers watching at home were logging on to SciFi.com and sending messages
to the investigators. Some home viewers claimed to see a closet door open
and close in room 407 around 1:15 a.m. The scene on Sci Fi and the
network’s Web site is downright frightening, as the investigators
were ghost hunting in the dark. Viewers only saw the live broadcast through
black-and-white, night vision cameras, which only enhance the shadows in
the night.

Around 1:30 a.m., Punk returned to the King Room,
number 217, where Brian Harnois, the show’s technical advisor, and
technology manager, Steve Gonsalvez, taught Punk how to use a digital
thermometer. They experienced cold spots, which could be telling of
paranormal activity in the area.

A half hour later, the creepiness factor went way up in the hotel’s
Billiards Room. Gonsalvez said he heard voices, and Punk fearlessly
followed his lead in the borderline frigid room. Punk was checking his
wireless phone throughout the show, and said his Aunt Kathy was watching
and said she saw white ghosts in the hallway nearby next to
investigator-in-training, Dave Tango.

“I wonder if the ghosts are all text messaging each other letting
them all know we’re here?” the Extremist joked.

Meanwhile, Hawes and Wilson tried to stir up the ghost of Mrs. Stanley in
the Music Room, hoping to get her to play a tune on her piano, but had no
such luck. By 3:40, two other investigators were hanging out in a fourth
floor hallway, which is supposedly haunted by the spirits of children.
Hawes and Wilson then later entered The Stanley’s Manor House, where
in room 1302 they tried to get the phantom maid to reveal herself.

“Remember all the good times we had together?
You moving tables, me crapping my pants. Good times,” Wilson
joked.

As the night went on, the lead investigators searched in the underground
employee passageway, while Punk ghost hunted with the other investigators
in the Concert Hall. Hawes and Wilson continued to find creepy occurrences
in the underground passage.

Hawes summed it up perfectly: “I’m telling ya, there’s a
lot more than meets the eye at The Stanley.”